You can have any trim of the petrol Kia Sportage so long as it’s the sole one offered

Naza Kia has trimmed a few trims from its Sportage line-up and shored it up with a well decked out lone trim

Dinesh Appavu

13 Mar 2018

There’s a new variant of the Kia Sportage in town and it brings a respectable spec list with it to the table as the sole petrol-powered Sportage now available.

Wait, what happened to the Sportage GT Petrol 2WD and Sportage KX? Well, those have been axed with immediate effect in favour of the new Sportage 2.0 EX that streamlines the variants to offer more value for money to buyers.

The exterior gets headlamps with integrated LED DRLs that sit above the signature ‘Schreyer’ grille. Ingress and egress is made simpler with keyless entry, a push start button. Automatic air-conditioning and an electrochromic rear-view mirror complete the toys in the cabin.

Entertainment on the go is now courtesy of a 7.0-inch touchscreen audio system that replaced with the smaller 5.0-inch screen. This time around, it has also been brought up to times with Android Auto and Apple CarPlay compatibility.

Cosmetically, it rides on 18-inch twin five spoke wheels and the equipment comprises front and rear parking sensors, rain sensor and auto folding side mirrors with integrated indicators.

Safety remains at six airbags, ABS, stability control, vehicle stability control and hill-start assist. All this is housed in an Advanced High Strength Steel (AHSS) body structure that.

The powertrain remains status quo with the 2.0-litre inline-four delivering 153hp and 192Nm of torque that will only drive the front wheels via the familiar six-speed automatic.

A total of five shades will be offered; Cherry Black, Mercury Blue, Fiery Red, Snow White Pearl and Mineral Silver. Pricing for the Sportage 2.0 EX is RM129,888 and it comes with an unlimited mileage, five-year warranty. All Kia showrooms will be accepting bookings for the trim today and test drives are also available.